High school sports are supposed to be innocent. Kids play for the fun, for their parents and families, for the glory, and to learn lessons like discipline, dedication, team-work, and perseverance. The teenage years are supposed to be a carefree time in life. But tragedy doesn’t know an age. On back-to-back nights in Mabel, Cougar basketball players took the court days removed from a heartbreaking accident. They put forth inspired emotional efforts. Both squads, and the M-C community, got to heal a little from the losses of Avery and Aiden Arneson. They did so through winning. M-C’s boys (4-7, 7-12) got their best ‘W’ of the year by handling GM (7-3, 10-10). The Larks were held to eight first half points. Team mullet prevailed 55-40. The Cougars got good contributions from Dylan Loppnow (12 pts, 5-8 FGs), Brenden Kerns (10 pts), Drew Wyffels (9 pts, 5 rebs, 8 assists), Pierce Lind (9 pts, 4-6 FGs, 5 rebs), Ryan Kuhn (6 pts, 6 rebs), and Logan Richardson (5 pts, 11 rebs, 3 assists, 3 stls). Cody Hershberger, Kerns, Lind, and Richardson were classmates with Avery. It was a 41-point turn-around. GM won 73-47 in January. M-C’s boys are 4-7, 8-12. A night later, the Cougar girls (4-5, 6-14) posted their best win, beating Schaeffer Academy (5-6, 14-9). Team young, short, and scrappy prevailed 49-37. Underclassmen Payton Danielson (18 pts, 5-7 FTs, 7 rebs, 5 stls), Avery Davis (10 pts), and Kenidi McCabe (8 pts, 7 rebs, 5 blks) did the big work. It was a 40-point turnaround. S.A. won a 51-23 in December. The Cougars, with just three upper-classmen (senior Miranda Cox, juniors Maddy Michels/Lexi Thorson), improved to 5-5, 7-14. Girls Coach Adam Wilder: “Avery and Aiden were two very special girls that were great teammates, extremely hard workers, and were friends to everyone. They will forever be a part of our team. ‘Thank You’ to everyone that has reached out and supported the Arneson family and our community through this difficult time.”
Healing Through Winning
